Corncob material cigarette



Aug. 13, 1963 'w. c. SCHMIDT CORNCOB MATERIAL CIGARETTE Filed April 23, 1962 m I M H WC W8 .0

AHorney;

United States Patent O 3,100,492 CORNCOB MATERIAL CIGARETTE William C. Schmidt, Quarters 1040C, Fort Benjamin Harrison, Indianapolis, Ind.

Filed Apr. 23, 1962, Ser. No. 189,553 12 Claims. c1. 13r 2 The present invention relates to a cigarette, to a novel smoking composition which may be used in a cigarette and to a method for making said smoking composition.

It is now widely believed that cigarette smoking, which in many cases involves inhaling, is harmful to the human body. Certain authorities are of the opinion that one cause of harm is the nicotine which is present in tobacco and is transferred to or comes in contact with the body during smoking. One object of the present invention is to provide a smoking material and method formaking same which does not contain nicotine and, therefore, when smoked, does not cause the harm that nicotine is believed to cause.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide an improved smoking composition and cigarette and method for making same.

A further object or advantage of the present invention is that it provides a smoking material and method for making same which makes use of what would otherwise be waste material.

Related objects and advantages will become apparent as the description proceeds.

The smoking material of the present invention comprises grated or ground corncob. Thus, one embodiment of the present invention comprises a cigarette incorporating a roll or cylinder of paper having received therein grated corncob.

One embodiment of the method of the present invention comprises the manufacture of a smoking composi-- tion including the boiling of an ear of corn, removing the kernels from the ear to leave the corncob, grating the cob, drying the grated material in air until substantially all of the moisture has been evaporated and rolling the grated material within cigarette paper.

The full nature of the invention will be understood from the accompanying drawing and the following description and claims.

The FIGURE is a longitudinal section of a cigarette manufactured according to the present invention taken to include the axis thereof.

For the purposes of promoting an understanding of the principles of the invention, reference will now be made to the embodiment illustrated in the drawing and specific language will be used to describe the same. It will nevertheless be understood that no limitation of the scope of the invention is thereby intended, such alterations and further modifications in the illustrated device, and such further applications of the principles of the invention as illustrated therein being contemplated as would normally occur to one skilled in the art to which the invention relates.

Referring to the figure, there is illustrated a cigarette having therein grated corncob 11. The grated corncob 11 is surrounded by a rolled cylinder of cigarette paper 12 which is received about the grated material 11 similarly to a conventional cigarette. After the cigarette 10 is rolled by the smoker, saliva can be used to seal the edges of the cigarette paper or, alternatively, the cigarete may be manufactured in conventional manner by machines at the factory.

Example 1 One example of the method of the present invention includes the use of ears of a hybrid field-ripened sweet corn. The husks are removed from the ears and the ears are 'ice I placedin boiling water for approximately three to seven minutes. The boiling time depends on the age of the corn being used with less boiling time required for older corn. The ears are then removed from the boiling water corncob may be ground by means of a conventional meat grinder. It is preferred, however, that the corncob be grated rather than ground for the reason that the resulting material packs better in a cigarette and does not easily escape from the ends of a cigarette during handling.

After grating, the material is dried by preferably plac- =ing upon a flat surface in air. Alternatively, the material maybe dried by heating within an oven at a very low temperature. If the material is dried in air at room temperature, five or six days at approximately 70 F. and 40% relative humidity provides proper thorough drying. in order to manufacture a single cigarette of standard (regular) length, threc-sixteenths of an ounce of the dried material processed as above described is rolled within commercially available cigarette paper. -Obviously, the smoking material may also be formed into a cigarette such as shown in the figure by conventional cigarette manufacturing apparatus.

If desired, flavoring may be added to .the smoking material. Such flavoring is optional to the present ex ample as well as to the examples which follows The flavoring may consist of a commercially available mixture of concentrated peppermint oil and mint oil. In the above described example, one drop of said mixture per four regular cigarettes :has been found to be the preferable amount, this mixture being mechanically mixed with the smoking composition prior to rolling the cigarette. Further, such flavoring might comprise the addition of menthol which might :be added by placing commercially available menthol crystals in a container and placing the grated material also within the container for sufficient time to flavor the material to the extent desired. The above described example produces a smoke which is described as neither mild nor strong but instead of medium intensity.

Example II In order to produce a relatively strong smoke as compared to the above medium smoke, the same steps are followed with the exception that the kernels of corn are removed from the cob prior to boiling.

Example III In order to produce a relatively mild type of smoke, the same steps as above described in either Example I or II are followed with the exception that boiling of the cob is left out.

Lf desired, the menthol may be placed within the filter tip instead of in the smoking composition as is done in certain commercially available cigarettes.

It should be understood that the above examples are merely illustrative and that the invention includes variations which do not meet the precise terms of the above examples. As an illustration, the boiling time in Examplcs I and 11 could range anywhere from three to seven minutes and this figure is still not restrictive because the boiling step could be completely eliminated as set forth in Example III.

While the invention has been illustrated and described in detail in the drawings and fore-going description, the same is to considered as illustrative and not restrictive in character, it being understood that only the preferred sheet of material surrounding said corncob, said corncob being the material that is smoked.

2. A cigarette comprising grated corncob, and a roll of paper having said corncob received therein, said corncob being the material that is smoked.

3. A cigarette comprising boiled dry (grated corncob',

' and a cylindrical roll of paper having said corneob re-,

ceived therein, said corncob being the material that is smoked. r

4. A cigarette comprising ground corncob, and a roll of paper having said corncob received therein, said corncob being the material that is smoked.

5. A smoking tobacco substitute comprising grated corncob.

6. A smoking tobacco substitute comprising boiled and thoroughly dried grated corncob.

7. A method of making a smoking material comprising removing the husk from an ear of corn, removing the :kernels from the ear to leave the cob, grating the cob,

and drying the grated cob.

8. A method of making smoking material comprising removing the husks from ears of field ripened hybrid 'sweetcorn, boiling the ears in the Water, removing the kernels from the ears to leave the cobs, grating the cobs,

' and drying the [grated cobs.

9. A method of making a cigarette comprising removing the husks from ears of field ripened hybrid sweet corn, boiling the ears in water, removing the kernels from the ears to leave the cobs, grating the cobs, drying the grated cobs, and rolling said grated cobs within cigarette paper.

10. A method of making a cigarette comprising removing the husks trom ears of field ripened hybrid sweet corn, removing the kernels from the, ears to leave the cobs, boiling the cobs in water for ibetween three and seven minutes, grating the cobs, drying the grated cobs at 70 F. and 40% relative humidity .for five or six days, and rolling three-sixteenths of an ounce of said grated cobs within cigarette paper. 7

11. A method of making a cigarette comprising removing the husks'from ears of field ripened hybrid sweet corn, removing the kernels irorn the ears to leave the cobs, grating the cobs, drying the grated cobs at F.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 209,801 Du Brtul Nov. 12, 1878 455,675 Weinrich July 7, 1891 1,455,396. Hesson May 15, 1923 2,150,493

Dahlstrom et al Mar. 14, 1939 

1. A CIGARETE COMPRISING CORNCOB, AND A COMBUSTIBLE SHEET OF MATERIAL SURROUNDING SAID CORNCOB, SAID CORN- 